Nigeria: Uncommon Housing Material for All

16 December 2013

To many Nigerians, the dream of owning their own houses is a pipe dream given the harsh economic realities of our time. But the Office of Sustainability of the American University of Nigeria (AUN) in Yola, Adamawa State seems to have found a way to make the dream real with their unusual, cheap and environment-friendly building materials. In this chat with Financial Vanguard in Yola, Professor Charles Reith, Interim Provost & Director of Sustainability Initiatives and Mr Dahiru Adamu, Head of Water Resources Unit, Works & Maintenance Department spoke on the project and its impact on the environment. Today, we feature AUN's eco-bricks, said to be more durable than normal bricks. Reith noted that the University is saving about N600,000 monthly in waste disposal. Excerpts:

The goal of the Sustainability Initiative, according to Professor Margee Ensign, President of AUN, "is to spur local economic development by providing hands-on training for local people while at the same time protecting and enhancing the natural environment, thus preserving it for future generations. So Professor Charles Reith, Director of Sustainability, came up with the idea of making bricks using empty plastic bottles.

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